Thursday, an announcement was made that two former officials of the Obama administration have joined the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Both Melanie Roussell Newman and James Cadogan have been appointed to positions of leadership within the Legal Defense Fund, per a Thursday press release.

President and counsel of LDF, Sherrilyn Ifill, told the press that the Fund is honored to have Newman and Cadogan on the team. Both are former senior government officials. This gives the experience they need to bring something unique to the table when it comes to organizational management skills, political acumen and public policy experience.

Melanie Roussell Newman will work with LDF as the chief public engagement and communications strategist. James Cadogan will be LDF’s director of Thurgood Marshall Institute.

Cadogan and Newman both had positions in former President Barack Obama’s administration. Cadogan served with former Attorney General Loretta Lynch in the Department of Justice as a counselor to Lynch. Newman also worked in the DOJ as the director of the Office of Public Affairs.

The NAACP LDF focuses on criminal justice, education and political participation in the black community.

“LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 75 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments,” its website reads.

Obama previously praised the LDF and the work the organization does.

“The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund is simply the best civil rights law firm in American history,” Obama said, according to LDF’s site.